The Warner Bros. film “42″ will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download tomorrow, July 16. Speakeasy has an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip with actor Harrison Ford discussing how he transformed into Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager who broke baseball’s race barrier by signing Jackie Robinson.

The film, which stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Nicole Beharie as his wife Rachel, was directed by Brian Helgeland. Lifelong fans of the Dodgers may also be interested to see (and hear) iconic sportscaster Red Barber giving the play-by-play at the games.

“Red was mostly a sound and not an image for most people, he was the voice of the Dodgers,” said actor John C. McGinley, who plays Barber. “The Brooklyn Dodger faithful, now an aging demographic, absolutely cherishes the memory and sound of Red Barber.”

Watch exclusive clips from the “42″ Blu-ray after the jump. Read More »

When John C. McGinley got a call asking him to play Dave Moss in “Glengarry Glen Ross” with Al Pacino on Broadway he immediately began memorizing. Five days a week, four hours a day, for four weeks straight, he learned every ellipsis and comma in the brutal Pulitzer-prize winning script by David Mamet. He turned his rehearsal space in Los Angeles into “Mamet Theater Boot Camp” he says, and hired a young actor to be the “text police.”

“I told him what I want you to do is police the commas, the pauses, and the italics,” says Mr. McGinley. “I don’t ever want you to tell me how you think this is going, because you have no idea. All I want you to do is just be the word police,” Mr. McGinley says. “I just became this Mamet zealot.”

The technique worked. The most anticipated show of the fall – with Pacino as Shelley Levene and Bobby Cannavale as Ricky Roma – has gotten mixed reviews overall but McGinley, whose character plots to rob a third-rate real estate office, is often singled out for his performance.

Although he’s friends with Ed Harris, who played Moss in cult-status movie version of the play, he wouldn’t ask him for any advice or even watch the film. “I wanted to explore this one by myself.”

He admits his co-stars were surprised when he showed up for the first rehearsal looking a little like the do-gooder student who actually completes all of his summer reading over the vacation.

“I came to New York so wired it wasn’t even funny,” he laughs. “They thought I was a jackass.”

He spoke to Speakeasy about working with Pacino, memorizing Mamet, extending previews, and his not-so-delicate thoughts on critics. After the jump, read an edited transcript. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.